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A2 Bulletin

Parent, Guardians, Educators... #STAYWOKE

What is sexting?Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexual photos or sexually suggestive messages through text message or email. While the term "Sext" has been around since about 2005, the idea of exchanging or recording sexual material isn't a new concept. Historically sexual material has been distributed by means of: drawings, photographs, and videos. Then along came the internet through which electronic devices and social media outlets have changed the game of sexual exchanges. These modern technology advances have made sexual exchanges much easier and more powerful than ever before. With a click of a button a picture can be distributed to many people instantaneously—and once it's out there, there's no going back.

Recent ResearchJust recently there has been some interesting research released on teen sexting:

The first is from the University of Utah’s Department of Psychology. Researchers surveyed 606 teens ages 14-18 and found that approximately 20 percent of the teens said they had sent a sexual image of themselves via cell phone. About twice as many teens admitted to receiving a sext. To top it off, of those who reported receiving a sext, well over 25 percent said that they had forwarded it to someone else. So, they're sharing the pics with their friends.

The second study was published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch found teens who "sext" may be more likely to engage in sexual behaviors. Here are some of the findings:

28% of teens admitted to having sent a sext.

76.2% of teens who were propositioned to sext admitted to having had sexual intercourse.